Machine for conditioning shoe bottom fillers



Nov. 17, 1936.

C. F. EATON MACHINE FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 10, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 r'p/ E1 1:05

Nov. 17, 1936. c. F. EATON MACHINE FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 10, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 17, 1936. c. F. EATON MACHINE FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 10, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 17, 1936.- c. F. EATON MACHINE FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS Filed May 10, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov; 17, 1936. EA N 2,061,455

MACHINE FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM FILLERS r IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII J 4 011x111 A'IlllAVIIfiAWl/MA'IIIIIAVIII A'IIII/A'IIII/ A'IIII/AIIII/A'IIIIIA'I/IflA'II/flA'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIfl/IIIiI/IIIIIIIL Patented Nov. 17, 1936 UNETED r r vFries MACHINE FOR CONDITIONING SHOE BOTTOM mamas Application May 10, 1935, Serial No. 20,881

17 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine or apparatus for conditioning shoe bottom filler of the kind which requires treatment by heat and moisture in order to soften and condition it prepara 5 tory to laying and spreading the filler in the bottom cavities of shoes.

Since the conditioning machine of the present invention is especially designed and adapted for use as an attachment to a shoe filling machine or press by which the filler is spread, leveled and compressed in the bottom cavity of the shoe, it will be herein illustrated in connection with a typical shoe filling press of the kind shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,927,279 granted to me September 19, 1933. It is to be understood, however, that certain features of the invention are useful in connection with the manual filling of shoes and are independent of the use of the conditioning machine as an attachment to a shoe filling press for the machine filling of shoes.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the conditioning machine attached to the side of a shoe filling press of the kind shown in my said Patent No. 1,927,279;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the conditioning machine, partly broken away and in section;

Fig. 3 is a detail in plan view showing the adjustable bracket by which the conditioning machine is attached to the press;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the conditioning machine, partly broken away;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the conditioning machine viewed from the left of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on line 6-45 of Fig. 4.

The conditioning machine comprises a vessel in the interior of which is a horizontal partition l l forming a steam chest l2 between the horizontal partition H and the bottom wall I3 of the vessel Ill. About midway of its length the vessel Ill is provided with a transverse narrow wall section or strut M, Figs. 4 and 6, fastened at its ends to the opposite side walls of the vessel 19 and spaced a substantial distance above the partition II. A pair of guide brackets i are fastened to the side walls of the vessel near the top of the vessel and spaced a short distance in front of the wall section Hi. In the slideway thus provided between the wall section l4 and the brackets I5 is a vertically movable gate It, which divides the vessel into a work compartment H, from which the conditioned filler is taken for application to the shoe, and a supply compartment I8, in which the principal conditioning of the filler takes place.

The supply compartment I8 is preferably divided longitudinally into two chambers by a central partition wall it. When the gate I6 is raised the filler material may be pushed or scraped forward from either of these two chambers into the work compartment ll.

The supply compartment I8 is provided with a cover 20 hinged to the side wall of the vessel by a pintle rod 2!, on which the cover may be swung from closed position indicated in solid lines to open position indicated in' dot and dash lines in Fig. 2. The cover 28 may be provided with a handle 20 by means of which it is raised and lowered. It will be noted that the axis of the hinge 2| is perpendicular to the gate l6 and that consequently the cover 29 swings in a direction parallel to the plane of the gate l6.

At the forward edge of the cover 20 adjacent the gate I6 is a gate-actuating member consisting, as herein shown, of a roller 22 carried on a stud 23 projecting beyond the edge of the cover from a bracket 24 fixed to the top of the cover. The roller 22 extends into a horizontal slot 25 formed in the upper part of the gate Hi. When the cover 20 is swung upwardly to its open position it acts through the roller 22 and slot 25 to raise the gate it into its open position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The upper edge of the slot constitutes an abutment track which is engaged by the roller and on which the roller rides in all positions of the cover and gate, thus causing the gate to open and close when the cover is opened and closed.

The cover 20 may be held in its open position for convenience in loading'the supply compartment by means of a toggle brace consisting of a pair of links 26 and 21 which are pivotally connected at 28. The opposite end of link 26 is pivotally connected at 29 to the cover 20 and the opposite end of link 21 is pivotally connected to the rear wall of the vessel at 30. The link 21 is provided with a laterally projecting lug 3| close to the pivot 28 for engaging the edge of link 26 when the toggle brace is straightened so as to prevent the pivot 28 from passing beyond the dead center. The toggle brace will therefore support the cover 20 in its open position until the toggle brace 25 and 21 is manually buckled to permit the cover to close.

The steam chest 112 extends continuously underneath both the work compartment Ill and the supply compartment I8. That part of the horizontal wall I l which constitutes the bottom of the supply compartment is provided with a multiplicity of apertures 32 communicating with the steam chest to admit steam from the steam chest l2 into the supply compartment. That part of the partition wall H which constitutes the bottom of the work compartment I! is preferably imperforate.

Steam is supplied from any suitable source to the steam chest through a steam inlet pipe 34, which directly enters the steam chest near the rear of the machine under the supply compartment through an aperture 33. The steam inlet pipe 34 is controlled by a shut-off valve 35.

Within the work compartment I! is a hollow block 36, Figs. 2 and 4, which is fastened to the inside wall of the work compartment by means of pipe nipples 31 and 38. The inner side of the block 36, facing inwardly of the work compartment, is preferably curved or concave as indicated at 36 to provide a wiper surface, the purpose of which will presently be described.

The pipe nipple 31, which enters the hollow box 36 through the side wall of the vessel, provides a steam inlet by which the box and especially the curved wiper surface 36 is heated. The pipe nipple 38 at the bottom of the box 36 provides a steam outlet through which steam passes from the box into the steam chest |2. As shown in Figs. 2 and 6 the steam chest is provided with an outlet 39 to which is connected an outlet pipe 43 provided with a shut-off valve 4|.

The steam inlet nipple 31 of the box 36 is connected by a steam inlet pipe 42 to the main steam inlet pipe 34 at a point in advance of the valve 35. The pipe 42 is controlled by a shut-off valve 43. Thus the valves 35 and 43 provide independent means for controlling the supply of steam to the steam chest l2 and to the hollow box 36, and valve 4| connected with the outlet of the steam chest provides means by which the flow of steam through the steam chest l2 and the hollow box 36 may be regulated as desired.

In operation steam is admitted into the steam chest past valve 35 until the supply of filler material in the supply compartment I8 is properly softened and conditioned for use by the heat of the steam and by the moisture furnished by the direct introduction of the steam into the filler mass from the apertures 32. During at least part of the time, while the filler in the supply compartment is being thus conditioned, the valve 43 may be opened and part of the steam supply passed through the by-pass pipe 42 and into the hollow box 36 and thence into the steam chest l2; or, if preferred, the admission of steam to the hollow box 36 may be deferred until after the conditioning of the filler in the supply compartment has been completed. After the filler in the supply compartment has been brought to the proper temperature and plastic condition the valve 35 is closed and the valve 43 is opened, thus sending all the steam through the by-pass 42 and hollow box 36 into the steam chest. By regulating the outlet valve 4| the steam thus supplied to the machine may be kept just sufficient to keep the hollow block 36 hot and at the same time to hold the filler within the supply compartment in proper working condition without overtreatment.

When the filler in one of the two chambers of the supply compartment is ready for use the cover 20 is raised and the opening of the cover also opens the gate I6 between the supply compartment and the work compartment. The contents of one of the chambers of the supply compartment is then pushed or scraped forward into the work compartment l7 and a fresh charge of unconditioned filler is placed in the chamber thus cleared, whereupon the cover 20 and g e 4.

closed and the conditioning of the new charge proceeds while the operator is using the filler in the work compartment It will be understood that the two chambers in the supply compartment are preferably loaded at such intervals of time that the contents of one chamber will be ready for use when the filler in the work compartment has been used up and that meanwhile the contents of the other chamber is being brought to working condition.

In the filling of shoes the operator scoops up a quantity of filler suitable for filling a single shoe bottom cavity from the mass in the work cham ber by means of a tool resembling a spatula or putty knife. It will be understood that the conditioned filler in the uncovered work compartment I! is kept warm by radiant heat from the steam-heated bottom of the compartment; also that the box 36 is kept heated to a fairly high temperature. After scooping up the desired quantity of the filler upon the blade of the filling tool from the mass within the Work compartment ll, the operator wipes the loaded tool against the hot curved wiper surface 36 of the block 36, thereby properly distributing the material on the blade of the knife, scraping off any excess quantity, and at the same time heating the load on the knife. He then immediately lays the heated load in the shoe bottom cavity and inserts it in the press by which it is spread, leveled and compacted as more fully described in said Patent No. 1,927,279. In case the filling operation is not to be completed in a shoe filling machine, the operator completes the spreading and leveling of the filler in the shoe bottom cavity by hand in the usual manner.

When the conditioning machine is used as an attachment to a shoe filling press, the manner in which it is mounted on the press is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The vessel I0 is supported by a compound bracket indicated generally at 44, Fig. 1, fastened by means of screws 45 to a rigid arm 46 which is part of the pedestal 41 of the shoe filler press indicated generally at 48.

The bracket 44 comprises three plate sections 49, 56, and 5|. Section 49 is made with a pair of lugs 49 by which the bracket is fastened to the frame 46. Section 5| is made with a pair of downwardly extending arms 5| which engage under the bottom wall of the vessel l0 and are fastened thereto by means of screws 5| The section 49 is made with vertical slots 52 through which bolts 53 extend. Bolts 53 are threaded into the middle section 50 which may thus be vertically adjusted on section 49 and clamped in adjusted position. Section 49 is also provided with a central vertical groove which is occupied by a rib 54 on the abutting face of section 56 thus guiding the section 50 in its vertical adjustment and preventing it from tilting out of its horizontal position. Section 5| of the bracket 44 is made with horizontally extending parallel slots 55 through which extend bolts 56 secured by nuts at the opposite side of section 50. The section 5| is made with a pair of aligned horizontal ribs 51 which occupy horizontal grooves provided upon the proximate face of section 50. This rib and groove construc tion provides for relative horizontal adjustment between the sections 50 and 5| but prevents any relative tilting movement.

By means of the bracket, above described, the height of the vessel if! may be varied by adjusting section 50 up and down on section 49 while the position of the vessel may be adjusted forward and backward by the adjustment of section 5| horizontally on section 50.

As an additional brace to relieve the bracket of part of the weight of the conditioning machine an adjustable bottom brace 58 may be provided, made in two sliding sections 59 and 60 which may be rigidly fastened together by means of a bolt Bl. The upper end of the section 59 is screwed to the bottom wall of the vessel 10 by means of a screw 62 and the lower end of the section 60 may be fastened to the base of the pedestal 41 by means of a screw 63. The length of the brace 58 may be varied to agree with the adjustment of the vessel I 0.

By providing two chambers in the supply compartment IS the operator may use the filler from one chamber while the material in the other chamber is being conditioned by the steamtreatment; also the valve 35 may be fully opened to prepare the conditioning apparatus for use, after which it is closed and the valve 43 of the by-pass pipe 42 may be opened and left open While using the apparatus. Thus, while the apparatus is in use for filling shoes steam passes through the wiper box 36 into the steam chest l2, and by regulating the outlet 39 a regulated supply of steam is admitted to the supply compartment. The holes or apertures 32 are made tapered and larger at the lower end than at the upper end to avoid clogging by the filler material.

I claim:

1. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a vertically movable gate separating said two compartments, a cover hinged to the vessel for closing the supply compartment, the axis of the hinge being perpendicular to the plane of the gate, and means connecting the gate to the cover adapted to cause the gate to open and close when the cover is opened and closed.

2. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a vertically movable gate, separating said two compartments, a cover hinged to the vessel for closing the supply compartment, the axis of the hinge being perpendicular to the plane of the gate, and a gate actuating member carried by the cover at the edge of the cover adjacent to the gate adapted to cause the gate to open and close when the cover is opened and closed.

3. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a vertically movable gate separating said two compartments, a cover hinged to the vessel for closing the supply compartment, the axis of the. hinge being perpendicular to the plane of the gate, a gate actuating member carried by the cover at the edge of the cover adjacent to the gate, and an abutment on the gate engaged by the gate actuating member, whereby the gate will be caused to open and close when the cover is opened and closed.

4. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a vertically movable gate separating said two compartments, a cover hinged to the vessel for closing the supply compartment, the axis of the hinge being perpendicular to the plane of the gate, a gate actuating member carried by the cover at the edge of the cover adjacent to the gate, and

an abutment track on the gate engaged by the gate actuating member in all positions of the cover and gate, whereby the gate will be caused to open and close when the cover is opened and closed.

5. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a vertically movable gate separating said two compartments, a cover hinged to the vessel for closing a supply compartment, the axis of the hinge being perpendicular to the plane of the gate, a gate actuating roller carried by the cover and projecting from the edge of the cover adjacent to'the gate, and an abutment track on the gate on which said roller runs in all positions of the cover and gate, whereby the gate will be caused to open and close when the cover is opened and closed.

6. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a vertically movable gate separating said two compartments, a cover hinged to the vessel for closing the supply compartment, the axis of the hinge being perpendicular to the plane of the gate, the gate having a horizontal slot in its upper part, and a gate actuating roller carried by the cover and projecting from the edge of the cover into said slot in all positions of the coverand gate, "whereby the gate will be caused'to open and close when the cover is opened and closed.

'7. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a movable gate separating said two compartments, and a steam chest exteneding underneath both of said compartments, the bottom of the supply compartment being provided with a multiplicity of apertures communicating with the steam chest, a block having a wiper surface positioned in the work compartment, and means to heat the block.

8. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a movable gate separating said two compartments, and a steam chest extending underneath both of said compartments, the bottom of the supply compartment being provided with a multiplicity of apertures communicating with the steam chest, a hollow bloclo having a wiper surface positioned in the work compartment, a steam inlet pipe communicating with said hollow block, and a steam outlet passage delivering from the hollow block into the steam chest.

9. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a movable gate separating said two compartments, and a steam chest extending underneath both of said compartments, the bottom of the supply compartment being provided with a multiplicity of apertures communicating with the steam chest, a hollow block having a wiper surface positioned in the work compartment, a steam inlet pipe communicating directly with the steam chest, a steam inlet pipe communicating with said hollow block, a steam outlet passage delivering from the hollow block into the steam chest, and means to control said steam inlet pipes whereby steam may be admitted into the steam chest directly, or indirectly through the hollow block, or both.

10. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a movable gate separating said two compartments, and a steam chest extending underneath both of said compartments, the bottom of the supply compartment being provided with a multiplicity of apertures communicating with the steam chest, a hollow block having a wiper surface secured to the inside of the wall of the work compartment, a steam inlet pipe communicating directly with the steam chest, a valve for controlling said pipe, a by-pass steam pipe connecting the steam inlet pipe from a point in advance of said valve with said hollow block, a valve for controlling said bypass pipe, and an outlet passage delivering from the hollow block into the steam chest.

11. A machine for conditioning shoe filler comprising a vessel having a work compartment, a block having a wiper surface positioned in the work compartment and means to heat the block.

12. A machine for conditioning shoe filler comprising a vessel having a work compartment, a block having a concave wiper surface positioned in the Work compartment and means to heat the block.

13. A machine for conditioning shoe filler comprising a vessel having a work compartment, a block secured to the inside of the wall of the work compartment and having a wiper surface facing inwardly of the compartment.

14. A machine for conditioning shoe filler comprising a Vessel having a work compartment, a block secured to the inside'of the wall of the work compartment and having a concave wiper surface facing inwardly of the compartment.

15. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a movable gate separating the two compartments, a heating chest extending underneath both of the compartments, means for admitting a fluid conditioning medium to the supply compartment, a block having a wiper surface positioned in the work compartment, and means to heat the block.

16. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a movable gate separating the two compartments, a steam chest extending underneath both of the compartments, a hollow block having a wiper surface positioned in the work compartment, a steam inlet pipe communicating with said hollow block, and means communicating with said hollow block for admitting steam into said supply compartment.

1'7. A machine for conditioning shoe bottom filler comprising a vessel having a supply compartment and a work compartment, a movable gate separating the two compartments, a steam chest extending underneath both of said compartments, a hollow block having a wiper surface positioned in the work compartment, a steam inlet pipe communicating with said hollow block, and steam connections between the hollow block and the steam chest and between the steam chest and the supply compartment for admitting steam from the hollow block through the steam chest into the supply compartment.

CHARLES F. EATON. 

